Brief Scores:

Pakistan 162 (43.1)
Babar Azam 47
Shoaib Malik 43
Kumar 3/15
Jadhav 3/23

India 164/2 (29)
Rohit Sharma 52
Shikhar Dhawan 46
Shadab Khan 1/6
Faheem Ashraf 1/37

India’s bowlers led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kedar Jadhav restricted Pakistan to a paltry 162 before Rohit led from the front with a breezy half-century to help India chase the target with 8 wickets and 21 overs to spare.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and opted to bat first. While Pakistan played the same XI that took on Hong Kong, India made two clinical changes. Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed made way for Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah bowled tight lines with the new ball and frustrated Pakistan. Bumrah started with back to back maidens which put pressure on Imam Ul-Haq to play the big shot against Kumar and in the process, lose his wicket.

The next maiden forced Fakhar Zaman to pull a ball which had no proper connection, keeping Pakistan reeling at 4/2 in the first five overs.

Babar Azam and Pakistan’s crisis man, Shoaib Malik, got together to rescue Pakistan. The duo took its own time to get going but ensured that Pakistan didn’t lose any further wickets.

Babar and Malik added 82 runs for the third wicket in 106 balls when a Kuldeep Yadav wrong ‘un castled the former. When things were going right for India, they lost Hardik Pandya to an acute lower back injury caused during his follow-through.

The pressure to score quick runs got to Sarfraz Ahmed who went for the big hit but lost his wicket to a blinder from substitute Manish Pandey at the long-on fence. But it was the run-out of Shoaib Malik that hurt Pakistan the most and never allowed them to recover.

Kedar Jadhav’s part-time off-spin yielded good results for Rohit. After bagging Sarfraz, Kedar also removed Asif Ali and Shadab Khan to reduce Pakistan to 121/7.

Faheem Ashraf and Mohammed Amir fought hard from there on but Bumrah, in his returning spell, ensured that India bowled out Pakistan for 162.

Chasing 163 for a win, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma ensured India a positive start with no sort of seam or swing assisting Amir, Usman and Ali.

Rohit Sharma, in that one over from Usman Khan, took off and never looked back. Usman kept banging the ball short and Rohit kept pulling him to the fence and over it.

The Indian skipper was in full-flow as India started to bat Pakistan out of the competition. He got to his fifty in just 36 balls with a lofted cover drive, probably the shot of the day. Dhawan from the other end too was playing confident strokes as India batted chancelessly against Pakistan’s strength – seam bowling.

Rohit’s breezy knock came to an end as soon as spin came in. A wrong ‘un from Shadab Khan got the better of him but India were already off to a flier.

Rayudu came in at three as Dhawan kept pummelling the bad balls to the fence. Just when he was looking set to convert his start, Dhawan hit a ball straight to point and departed for 46. But by then, India had already reduced 104 runs from the 163-run target.

Dinesh Karthik joined Ambati Rayudu as the duo took India home without any further hiccups, helping them beat Pakistan by 8 wickets comprehensively.

Pakistan will have a chance to better their performance when they face India on September 23 in the Super Fours.